Visiting a website is a bit<\/em> like going on a date.<\/p>\n You show up on a page and hope the content will perfectly match your expectations.<\/p>\n In many cases, the magic isn\u2019t quite there, but just occasionally, you find the one \u2014 the only article you\u2019ll ever need on cooking with chorizo (everyone loves a good sausage).<\/p>\n Wait, there\u2019s a problem. The link to the best chorizo supplier in the world is broken! If this were an actual<\/em> date, you would\u2019ve been ghosted.<\/p>\n That\u2019s exactly how visitors to your website feel when they come across broken links. It\u2019s a painful experience that only time (and website maintenance) can heal.<\/p>\n If you want to prevent this kind of heartbreak and make every customer fall in love with your brand, this is your super simple guide to finding and fixing broken links.<\/p>\n When your site contains broken links, visitors will come across 404 errors<\/a> when they try to navigate.<\/p>\n This might sound like a relatively minor issue in the grand scheme of your website, but some major consequences can really harm your business.<\/p>\n When someone clicks a link, it\u2019s because they really want to visit a certain page.<\/p>\n If access is denied because a link is broken, your visitors can quickly become frustrated. It can be enough to make them bounce (leave your site) and never return.<\/p>\n If you visited a brick-and-mortar store and found spiders\u2019 webs in the corners, you\u2019d probably think twice about sticking around.<\/p>\n Broken links create exactly the same off <\/em>vibe on your website. It feels like the place has been neglected and allowed to fall into ruin.<\/p>\n Some links on your website are really important \u2014 stuff like your CTAs (calls to action)<\/a> and menu items. If these elements break, customers who are ready to convert could be unable to follow through.<\/p>\n The likely result is a big negative impact on your total number of sales or sign-ups.<\/p>\n If you\u2019re trying to climb the search rankings, you can\u2019t afford to carry too many dead links.<\/p>\n There\u2019s a list of reasons why:<\/p>\n In other words \u2014 no bueno.<\/p>\n A link is broken \u2014 or \u201cdead\u201d \u2014 when it points to a page that doesn\u2019t exist<\/strong>. This problem occurs for a variety of reasons:<\/p>\n So many things could cause broken links, no wonder you have some!<\/p>\n You\u2019re here \u2019cause you found some broken links on your site, right?<\/p>\n While you could just fix those specific<\/em> instances, we recommend checking your entire site for problem links. That way, none will slip through the net.<\/p>\n Here are the best ways to find broken links, starting with the easiest option known to humankind\u2026<\/p>\n Well\u2026this one is kinda obvious.<\/p>\n Specialized tools like the W3C Link Checker<\/a> and Ahrefs\u2019 Broken Link Checker<\/a> are free and effective. Simply type in your website URL and wait a few minutes while the tool performs a link check.<\/p>\n You should then get a complete list of links that need updating. But\u2026here\u2019s the bad news: you now need to update these manually \u2014 one by one.<\/p>\n That means fixing typos, moving to the new URL for a particular page, or removing the link completely.<\/p>\n Subscribe now to receive all the latest updates, delivered directly to your inbox.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n If your site runs on the world\u2019s favorite CMS, you\u2019re in luck. There are loads of great plugins that can find broken links on your site, and help you fix them.<\/p>\n The accurately named Broken Link Checker<\/a> is the standout option here. It allows you to scan your entire site with a click, and then edit the individual URLs from the results page.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s how to set it up:<\/p>\n Head to Plugins<\/strong> > Install New Plugin<\/strong> in your WordPress admin area.<\/p>\n Search for \u201cBroken Link Checker.\u201d It\u2019s the one that looks like this:<\/p>\n Hit Install Now<\/strong>. Once that process is complete, click Activate<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Next, find the new \u201cLink Checker\u201d option in the WordPress sidebar. Click it, and you\u2019ll be presented with two options:<\/p>\n The plugin will run a scan on your site and reveal how many broken links you have. If you choose the \u201cCloud\u201d option, you will need to click VIEW FULL REPORT<\/strong> to see them.<\/p>\n On the results page, tap Edit Link<\/strong> next to each broken link to make your fix.<\/p>\n If you\u2019re using WordPress, a plugin\u2019s the quickest way to patch up those broken links.<\/p>\n Given the SEO impacts of broken links, it\u2019s a good idea to get Google\u2019s view on your website. You can do this by visiting Google Search Console (GSC)<\/a>.<\/p>\n While GSC will provide similar results to the tools mentioned above, it can reveal additional insights about broken links and help you figure out which links to fix first.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s the workflow:<\/p>\n Visit GSC and click on Settings<\/strong> in the sidebar.<\/p>\n Next, scroll down until you see \u201cCrawl stats.\u201d Hit the OPEN REPORT<\/strong> button here.<\/p>\n Ooh, lots of nice data \u2013 but we just need the \u201cBy response\u201d box.<\/p>\n Start by tapping on Not found (404)<\/strong> from the list. Google should provide a complete list of links that produce a 404 error page. You\u2019ll need to fix these on your website.<\/p>\n Now, return to the previous screen and select Moved permanently (301)<\/strong>. These broken links point to pages that have moved to new pastures. You need to fix these as well (more on this in the next section).<\/p>\n One advantage of using GSC is that you can easily see recurring problems over time, such as redirects\u2026<\/p>\n Whenever you make a significant change to your website, such as migrating to a new host<\/a> or changing the domain name, the URL for each page is likely to change.<\/p>\n If you don\u2019t rectify the problem, links to your content will break, and users will encounter a 404 error.<\/p>\n The solution is to use 301 redirects. These instructions help web browsers to find the new location for existing content. It\u2019s like hanging a \u201cWe\u2019ve moved!\u201d sign on your shop window.<\/p>\n There are two ways to set up 301 redirects:<\/strong><\/p>\n If your site runs on WordPress, we recommend using a plugin like Safe Redirect Manager. Here\u2019s how to get started:<\/p>\n In your WordPress admin area, hit Plugins <\/strong>> Add New Plugin<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Search for \u201cSafe Redirect Manager.\u201d This is the one you want:<\/p>\n Select Install Now<\/strong>, and then Activate<\/strong> when it appears.<\/p>\n Make your way to Tools<\/strong> > Safe Redirect Manager<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Here, you can start setting up redirects for the URLs that have moved. Just hit Create Redirect Rule<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Enter the original URL path in the \u201cRedirect From\u201d field and the destination URL in the \u201cRedirect To\u201d field. Then, select your preferred HTTP status code (302 is temporary, 301 is permanent) and click the \u201cPublish<\/strong>\u201d button to activate your redirect.<\/p>\n If you want to take a deeper dive (and see some alternative routes), check out our dedicated guide to creating 301 Redirects in WordPress<\/a>. The post also contains detailed instructions on editing your .htaccess file.<\/p>\n Well, what if you own a teeny tiny business website and you don\u2019t need the hassle? Luckily, you can check your links manually in five easy steps:<\/p>\n This should only take you a couple of hours if you run a small website. Just don\u2019t get distracted; it\u2019s way too easy to start fixing links on the fly, and forget to check the other parts of your site!<\/p>\n The best fix for each broken link depends on whether it\u2019s internal (pointing to your own content) or external (pointing to another site).<\/p>\n As a general rule:<\/p>\n Of course, finding and fixing all the broken links on your site isn\u2019t a one-time job. As time passes, links will continue to break. So, how do you keep up?<\/p>\n That\u2019s where dedicated tools really make the difference. Most allow you to schedule regular broken link checks. Some can even alert you when they find a new issue.<\/p>\n This feature is often a premium option. It might not be worth paying for if your site is pretty small. But if you have loads of pages, we recommend setting up periodic checks.<\/p>\n Broken links don\u2019t only affect your site. Every website has them.<\/p>\n If you find broken links on other sites, you have the chance to make some moves in SEO.<\/p>\n Broken link building is a marketing hack used by many SEO professionals. It works like this:<\/p>\nWhy Broken Links Are Bad News for Business<\/h2>\n
![\"DreamHost](\"https:\/\/www.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/01_dh_404_error.webp\")
<\/figure>\nBroken Links Create a Bad User Experience<\/h3>\n
![\"Diagram](\"https:\/\/www.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/02_the_broken_link_journey.webp\")
<\/figure>\nBroken Links Can Damage Your Brand Reputation<\/h3>\n
Broken Links Could Prevent Conversions<\/h3>\n
Broken Links Harm Your SEO Efforts<\/h3>\n
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So, What Causes Broken Links?<\/h2>\n
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![\"Infographic](\"https:\/\/www.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/03_potential_causes_of_broken_links.webp\")
<\/figure>\n5 Ways To Track Down and Fix Broken Links<\/h2>\n
1. Use a Broken Link Checker Tool<\/h3>\n
Get Content Delivered Straight to Your Inbox<\/h2>\n
2. Install a Broken Link Checker WordPress Plugin<\/h3>\n
![\"Screenshot](\"https:\/\/www.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/04_install_now.webp\")
<\/figure>\n\n
![\"Broken](\"https:\/\/www.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/05_view_full_report.webp\")
<\/figure>\n![\"Broken](\"https:\/\/www.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/06_broken_link_checker_menu-1024x610.webp\")
<\/figure>\n3. Check Google Search Console\u2019s Crawl Errors Report<\/h3>\n
![\"Settings](\"https:\/\/www.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/07_open_report.webp\")
<\/figure>\n![\"Crawl](\"https:\/\/www.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/08_by_response.webp\")
<\/figure>\n![\"close](\"https:\/\/www.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/09_404_links-975x1024.webp\")
<\/figure>\n4. Implement 301 Redirects<\/h3>\n
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![\"WordPress](\"https:\/\/www.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/10b_redirection_new_plugin.webp\")
<\/figure>\n![\"WordPress](\"https:\/\/www.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/11b_safe_redirection.webp\")
<\/figure>\n![\"create](\"https:\/\/www.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/12b_the_relative_url.webp\")
<\/figure>\n![\"WordPress](\"https:\/\/www.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/12c_the_relative_url-1024x672.webp\")
<\/figure>\n5. Check Your Links Manually<\/h3>\n
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Internal vs. External Broken Links<\/h3>\n
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Fixing the Ongoing Problem of Broken Links<\/h3>\n
Marketing Hack: Fix Broken Links on Other Websites<\/h2>\n
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![](\"https:\/\/www.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/product-cta-pro-services-marketing-877x586.webp)
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